Torn
by Sarisb
Summary: She was one of the Fire Nation, pure and simple. She was a firebender, trained under Commander Iroh himself. She was one of the best. Her loyalty never wavered. Until now. She becomes friends cont inside
1. The Girl

Hey peoples! Thanks for coming to read my first fan fiction! I'm used to writing stories, so if my descriptions are too long just tell me in your review (should you choose to). Sorry if my action sequences are too long, too short, or boring (please tell me if that is the case)! I've never written action sequences before, so they'll probably suck. Also, if there were anything else you would like to tell me to help make my story better, say so (a.k.a. constructive criticism welcome). I don't appreciate getting flames, but then again, what author does, so if you don't like something please put it… tactfully. I'm sorry if it takes a long time to update. This will probably be a long story, so to reduce time I won't take a hiatus unless I really need it. I hope you enjoy reading my story! With no further ado, let the story begin.

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The girl strode forward purposefully. Her hair was red, an unusual color where she came from. She was dressed casually, but the reds and insignia marked her as one of the Fire Nation, if not a fire bender also. Her eyes were a deep amber, more red than gold. She looked about fifteen, but it was hard to tell. She looked like she'd seen more than other teens her age had. She had a determined air, and the look of one who had been traveling a long time. The forest was still and quiet, almost unnaturally so. But the girl didn't seem to mind.

As she entered the clearing, she slowed to what people would think was a casual stroll, but she was watching her surroundings carefully. Someone had been following her, and she was determined to find out whom. She had been expecting this. She hadn't exactly tried to make herself look inconspicuous, but then again, she didn't really need to. She strode to the center of the clearing and waited. She decided to amuse herself. Setting the small pack slung around her back on the ground beside her, she tried to look as tired, as stupid, and as unwatchful as possible, like some city-bred girl who had only been on short walks before. True, she was born in the capital, but she had been wandering a long time. A pair of eyes gleamed in the forest to her right. She narrowed her eyes, cat-like, weighing the odds. If this person, or these people, were friendly, they would have shown themselves before. But she was part of the Fire Nation, so people had a right to be nervous. _Crap._ Commander Iroh had always said that she thought too much before a battle. _Only think what you must in a battle. What you are doing, what your adversary is doing, and what they are going to do next. Then you can figure out what you shall do next. Think about the chain reactions that will be caused by your actions. Do this, and you will live a lot longer. _Oh, screw it all. She'd find out in a second. With a war cry, she launched herself at the eyes. The person cried out in pain as she tackled them. She grabbed its arm and flipped them out into the clearing. She wasted no time, and dragging the person over to her pack, opened it and tied then person's arms up with a rope she always carried with her.

Now that they weren't fighting, she got a good look at them. It was a boy, and he was a lot younger than her. "Why were following me?" she stated simply. The boy glared at her but said nothing. "What's your name?" the girl asked. After a long pause in which the girl thought he wouldn't reply, he said, " The Duke… And when Jet and the rest of my group comes, they're going to kick your filthy Fire Nation butt!" The girl looked at him, wondering whether she should slap him. But he was just a little kid. Suddenly, she smiled dangerously. "We'll see whosebutt gets kicked. Stay here." She paused. "On second thought, I'll just tie you to a tree." She did, and then hid, making sure that "The Duke" couldn't see her. She didn't have to wait long. A group of teens and kids came out of the trees a few minutes later. A teenager, presumably the leader, stepped forward and exclaimed, "Duke! Who did this to you?"

"Some Fire Nation girl," Duke replied as one of the boys cut him free. "She went that way Jet!" The teenager, Jet, looked in the direction he was pointing. "Alright guys. Let's go kick some Fire Nation ass," Jet ordered. The girl looked at them, smiling, from directly behind them. Getting herself in position, she tensed her muscles. Just when the group of boys started walking in the opposite direction, she launched herself from the bush. The boys were completely taken by surprise. Her first punch caught one of the boys under the chin. He dropped like a stone, out cold. _One down, fifty thousand to go,_ she thought to herself. She kicked out at one of the boys, but before the kick landed she was tackled roughly from someone to her side._Crap,_ she thought, as the person's foot kicked her in the stomach, forcing all the air out of her lungs. With a growl she flipped the person over and pinned them down. It was The Duke. _Curse the person who lethim go. I hate doing things twice. _Lifting him up, she threw (lighter than she normally would have, since he was young) into a person who was about to land a heavy punch on her. He stumbled backwards with an "Oof!" Unfortunately, while she had been busy with Duke, the rest of the band had regrouped and boxed her in. She was outnumbered and outgunned, but, as Commander Iroh had told her, _they _were outmatched. _Time to drop the bombshell on these uppity boys. _Conjuring a fireball around her right fist, she slammed it into the nearest boy's face. _That'll teach him, _she thought, rather smugly. Suddenly a MASSIVE teen loomed in front of her, blocking her path. "Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?" he asked her. _Hell, boy, I'll _never _be your size._ Crouching, she kicked out with both of her legs, hoping to unbalance him. It worked, and he toppled over several other boys. She made sure he stayed down with a swift punch to the head. The next few minutes were a whirl of fists, legs, and fireballs.

When it was all over, almostthe entire band of boys were facedown in the dirt, unconscious. The leader was still up, looking at her with a shocked expression that quickly turned to rage. Before the girl hadn't gotten a good look at him. Now she did. She narrowed her eyes in hate. She _knew _him. He was going to pay for all the pain he had done to her. After all these years, here she was, face-to-face with her enemy. "You," she hissed.

"You," he said mildly, looking at her with disgust.

She conjured a fireball. The boy, Jet, got into a fighting stance. She did the same. Charging at each other, the boy threw a punch at her, while she hurled a fireball. Both of them dodged their opponents attacks. After several minutes going on like this and getting nowhere, they tackled each other, each punching whatever part of their opponent they could find, heedless to their own hurts. Finally the girl flipped him onto his back and pinned him down. Conjuring a fireball, she held it close to his face. How she wanted to end his miserable existance right then and there. But something inside her held her back. In a way, he was like her. He had suffered the same as she. "I won't let you get off next time. Consider yourself lucky," she hissed in his ear, before punching him in the forehead, knocking him out.

The girl grimaced. What was she going to do with them? Suddenly, she had an idea.

Smiling at a job well done, she got more rope out of her pack and tied all the boys to the tree she had tied The Duke to. It was a big tree, and all the boys fit around it. _But not,_ the girl thought with a grin, _comfortably._ She looked at them, and realized something was missing. With a smile, she got a piece of water- proof paper out of her pack. She had _known _it would come in handy.

Twenty minutes after the strange girl had first stopped in the clearing, she was on the road again.

Several hours later a group of Fire Nation soldiers trooped past the place the girl had stopped at. Their leader, a burly man, was in a terrible mood. The soldiers, wary of their leader's temper, were utterly quiet. It didn't matter what he was mad about, it only mattered that he didn't turn his anger on them. He did anyway. "Can't you girls move any FASTER? We have convicts to catch here!" To himself he thought, _Why am I wasting my time on this _ridiculous _job when my talents would be better used elsewhere? _He glanced down at his clipboard, where the orders for who he was to arrest were written, signed byAdmiral Zhao in accordance to Fire Lord Ozai's orders.

They entered the clearing, the commander muttering under his breath. He stopped abruptly when he saw what was there. "What the-," one of his soldiers started. He was broken off by a glare from his commander. In the little clearing a group of boys glared at the Fire Nation soldiers, tied to a tree. Across one of the teens' neck was a large sign that said, "ARREST US!" The officer smiled and looked down at the clipboard again, checking the description of who to arrest. In large letters his warrant stated, "Commander, I hereby give you an order to arrest the following person(s): one Jet and his band of children, wanted for thievery, murder, and ransacking several villages under Fire Nation control. Arrest immediately upon finding them. Descriptions given below." His job was now a hell of a lot easier.

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Now that you've read my first chappie, please review!Oh, and the whole Jet thing will be explained in later chapters. Can anyone tell that I don't like Jet? For any Jet lovers, you might not like this fic. He's going to be REALLY horrible later on.Also, this is an adventure/ romance story, and I was thinking about doing Zuko xOC pairing, but any suggestions would be helpful. However, I would like your opinion on this matter. Sorry that my first chapter is short, the rest will probably be longer! 


	2. Meeting the Gang

Hey all! Thanks for coming to chapter two! And, OMG, you MIGHT find out the main character's name. But maybe not. I suck. REALLY big flash in the middle of this chapter, so beware if ya don't like those things. That is all.

Yay! I have received two reviews! Thanks for taking the time to reviews guys!

The Violent Tomboy- Thanks for pointing out my mistakes, and I'll be sure to keep an eye on that in my future chapters

Alliwantislove- Thanks for the comments! I'll see if more people want a ZukoxOC, and I'll think about doing SokkaxOC. Again, I need to see how many people support that idea. But I think it sounds interesting.

**Oh, and I'm thinking about making it 1st person. Generally I don't like reading or writing in 1st person, but I think it could make this story interesting. I would like your opinion on this.**

Avatar and junk is not mine. Owned by other people. My character is my character.

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Katara opened her eyes and looked into the face of Momo, Aang's pet lemur, who was sitting on her chest.Katara had beautiful blue eyes and dark skin. She had brown hair, right now braided into ponytails. She wore a large, fluffy blue parka. Momo was white and black, with huge ears. He had thin webbing between his arms that allowed him to glide. "It's too early to get up, Momo. You should have let me sleep," the waterbender laughed, sitting up. The lemur slid off her with a squeak of protest, then scowled at her and started chewing her out in his odd language. This made the girl laugh harder. She glanced over where the lemur's owner, Aang lay still sleeping. He was bald, and had blue arrows on his head and hands. He wore a red outfit that allowed for easy moment when he was air bending. Its still felt odd, looking over and seeing Aang, who seemed like any normal twelve year old, despite the baldness and the arrows on his head and hands. But he wasn't. Aang was the last airbender, the Avatar. And he was the world's last hope of defeating the evil Fire Nation. She sighed and stood up, putting away her bedroll. Deciding not to wake Aang and her annoying brother Sokka just yet, she started gathering berries for their breakfast. Sokka, her brother, had dark skin and brown hair like her. However, his hair was tied into a small ponytail. Like his sister, he also wore the outfit of the South Pole water tribe. As she gathered the berries her thoughts strayed to her brother. Sokka. Yes, he was annoying. Yes, he was a walking stomach. But she loved him still. After all, he _was_ her brother. Even if he was _way_ too overprotective. Without realizing it, her thoughts strayed to Aang. What was she to do about him? She didn't even know what to _think_ of him. She was in such different minds. He confused him, in his innocent, honest, straightforward way. He was kind, even naively so. She liked him, as a younger brother. But one small, honest part of herself told her that she liked him in a way other than just a love for a brother, even if he was a few years younger than her. And sometimes, she admitted to herself, a tad bit immature. But he was the Avatar. He would rise to the occasion. _Ahh, but what occasion,_ the honest part of herself asked. She firmly and stubbornly told herself that it was saving the world. 

She used waterbending and filled a jug with water from a nearby stream before wrapping a cloth around her berries and set them next to last night's fire. Then she paused. For a moment she stood indecisive, wondering whether she should wake Aang. Sighing, she bended down and shook Aang slightly on the shoulder. "Wake up, Aang," she said quietly. He opened his large brown eyes. "What is it, Katara?" he asked.

"Nothing," she replied. "I just thought I'd get you up." She looked at him for a long moment, savoring the boyish innocence on his face, the youthful joy… Sokka grunting and rolling over before waking up brought her back to her senses. "Where's breakfast, Katara, I'm sooooo hungry," he whined. Katara and Aang grinned at each other. Sokka never changed. To answer his question, she told him, "I picked some berries. I set them next to the remains of the campfire. "Oh goody," Sokka said, licking his lips and rubbing his stomach. He hurriedly walked over to the cloth she had wrapped the berries in. Unfolding it, he looked inside with a gleeful expression on his face. When he saw what was in the cloth (or what wasn't), his face fell. "Hey! There's nothing in here," he cried.

"What?" Katara asked. "I just wrapped those berries in there a few minutes ago!" She glanced over at Momo, whose belly seemed distended and had a slightly smug expression on his face, for a lemur, and realized what had happened. "I'm so sorry Sokka! I wasn't paying attention and Momo must have eaten our breakfast."

"What! I'll kill that lemur!" he yelled, getting up and rushing after Momo.

"No way!" Aang yelled, sitting bolt upright. Sokka slowed down. "I was just kidding about killing Momo," he said, rather sulkily. "But I'm so hungry," he whined again.

"Don't worry Sokka," his sister soothed. "I'm sure we can find some more berries." When Sokka still didn't look convinced, Aang piped in, "Don't worry Sokka, we can all look for berries together. I'm sure we'll find a lot that way." Sokka seemed satisfied. Katara shot Aang a furtive look of thanks. Aang nodded, understanding. "Well come on then. What are we waiting for?" Katara shouted, running ahead.

"Yeah!" Sokka said enthusiastically, following her.

"I'll be right there," Aang told them. Using his airbending, he jumped high and landed next to his huge white flying bison, Appa. Appa had an arrow on his head too, and he had been trapped with Aang in the iceberg. He was a loyal pet. "Guard the camp for us, will ya, Appa?" asked Aang. The bison groaned in reply. "Good, I knew I count on you." Aang smiled at Appa. "Come on Aang, I'm _hungry,_" Sokka called back to him. Aang stood up. "Coming," he yelled in reply. And with a grin he dashed into the forest after them, Momo on his shoulder. Appa watched until he could not see Aang anymore, groaned, and then went to sleep.

The red headed firebender was on the road again. And she had a problem. She was bored stiff. She had abandoned the road and was now walking through a thick forest. She sighed and slowed her pace slightly enjoying the scenery. She did not see any point of going quickly to a place that she didn't know. Hell, it wasn't just that she didn't know the place she was going to, she didn't know _where_ she was going to. She sighed again and stopped. With sadness she examined a red flower. She gently stroked it, then released a small amount of flame from her hand and burned it. It looked even more beautiful as it burned, but when it was gone, it was gone. She stopped the fire before it spread to the entire plant. She now felt worse, because even though the flower had looked prettier as it was burning andbefore it had turned to ashes, its beauty was now extinguished forever. She sighed, then realized how silly she was acting. All this moping and sighing was completely ridiculous and totally unlike her. She snorted a thin stream of smoke, further revealing her firebender nature. She was not like this. She was not a moper. She was a spitfire, a girl with a touch of spice and an adamant nature. Many boys had found her spice endearing back home, until they got to know her. Then they were scared away by her quick temper and mood swings. Not that she had any time or interest in boys. Any advances they had made were quickly shut down and neutralized. She didn't have time. She was always training. And she just didn't like boys. She thought them silly and that they got in the way. But it was her fault she was here, wandering in a forest by herself. She wasn't banished or anything like the prince. She had chosen to go into a semi-exile, honing her skills in martial arts and firebending. It had seemed like a good idea then. She could remember the day clearly. She had been fourteen.

**FLASHBACK**

_The girl sat, knees crossed, eyes closed, breathing deep and even. She was in a courtyard with a large fountain. Behind her fancy buildings had been erected, and to the sides were entrances to the gardens. In front of her a small candle had been lit, and the small flame flared and withered in time with the girl's breathing. Above her a man stood watching her. He was an older man, with a gray beard and a potbelly. It was hard to believe that this man was one of the most celebrated of the Fire Nation's generals, Commander Iroh, brother of Fire Lord Ozai, and one of the most powerful firebender's in the Fire Nation. For several minutes they waited in silence, until finally the girl snorted a stream of smoke. Her concentration breaking, the candle extinguished. She sighed and stood up. "Patience. You must learn patience," Iroh chided. "Your firebending is good, but you will never reach your full potential until you learn patience." The girl hung her head and listened without a sound. When he had finished she said, "I'm sorry Commander Iroh. I will try harder." He had smiled at her then, his sternness disappearing. "I know you will. And please just call me Uncle Iroh. No need to be so formal with me." _

"_Yes Commander- I mean Uncle Iroh."_

_"Good girl. Now why don't you come inside for a hot cup of ginseng tea?" The girl looked up and smiled. "Sounds good." Iroh led the way, with the girl following behind. Inside one of the buildings they enjoyed a cup of tea. But there was something troubling the girl. When she had finished her tea she spoke her mind. "Comm- Uncle Iroh, I was thinking…um… you know how some of the warriors go off an spend a year or so in the wilderness, in solitude, honing their skills? Well, I think that this might be a good option for me. To get away from the capital and train by myself." Iroh sighed and leaned back. "Ahh. You, like many before you, feel the urge to go into the world." He sighed. "I can't stop you. But you want my advice. All I can say is do what you must. Go where you will. Remember where you're from, and most of all, is that you can always return, whenever you want." There was a moment of silence. " Yes, sir. I'd better go prepare. Goodbye." _

**END FLASHBACK**

And that had been it. She had left a few days later. She had learnedlater that Iroh had left only a day or two after her, following the prince into exile. The prince. She grimaced. Because of him, the Fire Nation was now less by one less great warrior to train new recruits. And hardened veterans too.

She continued her journey, but it was only a few minutes later when she stopped again. This time it was out of caution. She narrowed her eyes, listening as hard as she could. She could have sworn she heard someone, or something, crashing through the trees. But now she heard nothing. Before she could take a single step to investigate, someone crashed into her at full force, knocking her into the mud, with them landing on top of her, completely driving the air from her lungs. She tried to speak, but all she managed was a croak. The person on top of her had no such problems. Her body must have cushioned them. She felt boiling resentment. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was go- HOLD IT RIGHT THERE FIRE NATION SCUM!" Before she had any chance to react, and she wouldn't have been able to do much due to the fact that she was squashed, a very sharp looking boomerang was pressed to her throat. "Listen guy, I don't know who you are, but get this boomerangAWAY from my throat!" She was beginning to regain her breath- and her temper. "Are you crazy? You're from the Fire Nation. You can't trust any of them. All of them are murderers and thieves," her "captor", a boy who looked like he was from a water tribe told her. Somehow she thought what he said was amusing. He was telling her what her nation was like. Then her anger resurfaced. "All right listen up, _boy_, about the trust thing, DUH. That's what makes _my _people interesting and you're people skulking cowards. At least the Earth Kingdom _tried_ to fight back. And the other crap, our soldiers are just fighting this war. They didn't plan it. King Sozan did. But the Fire Nation has backbone. We aren't about to roll over and get walked over. So I would appreciate it if you would GET OFF OF ME and get your freakin' boomerang out of my FACE!" she yelled. Before he could reply, two other people came through the path that the boy had made. One was a girl who looked so much like him that she could be his sister, and probably was. The other was an odd looking boy who not only happened to be bald, but had blue arrows on his head and hands. "Sokka, what are you doing?" the girl exclaimed. Obviously she hadn't seen the red head's fire insignia on her shirt. "Can't you see? This girl is from the FIRE NATION." But the girl had had enough of this. Flipping herself over and twisting uncomfortably, she used her legs to flip the boy, Sokka or whatever his name was, and pin him down. Cautiously the girl got up, then slowly let him get to his feet, threatening that she'd roast him if he tried that again. There was a moment of stiff silence that was broken by the second boy as he bounded over, shook her hand, and said, "Hi! I'm Aang, what's your name?" The girl blinked, confused. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," Sokka said. "What are you doing, Aang! She's a firebender!" The girl, and Aang, ignored him. "My name's Amory. And I believe he was introducing himself and asking my name, Sokka." Sokka worked his jaw furiously. "Aang, what are we doing standing here talking to a firebender! She could have been sent to capture you! And besides, she's a firebender!"

"So you've said, Sokka," the girl said.

"We still can't trust her," Sokka sulked.

"By the way, my name's Katara," the girl said. Aang frowned. "Sokka has a point. How do we know Zuko or Zhao hasn't sent her to capture me?"

"And why would I want to capture you," Amory said sweetly and innocently. They all looked at her. "Because I'm the Avatar," Aang stated simply. Sokka elbowed him. "You're the _Avatar? _Aren't you a bit young, kid? I mean, I heard about him returning and all, but shouldn't you be a hundred years old?"

"I was trapped in an iceberg for one hundred years," Aang pressed. "Really!" Amory burst out laughing. "Fine, I'll prove it to you!" With lightning speed, he pulled a small marble from a pocket and made it float in his hand. "See?"

"Dang. You really are the Avatar," she said, hardly able to believe it. She thought a moment. "Okay. I want to come." The others looked at her as if she were crazy. Maybe she was. Finally Sokka broke the silence. "WHAT? You're a FIREBENDER, if you haven't noticed. And he's the AVATAR. Your nation is sort of trying to destroy him. And WHY would you want to come? AND WHY SHOULD WE TRUST YOU!" Sokka was not a happy camper.

"Okay. One: you've mentioned the fact that I'm a firebender before. Two: I'm me, not my nation. Three: because I'm bored and this sounds interesting. Four: No real reason, besides the fact that I won't turn you in. And how can I when I'm with you twenty-four seven?" For a few seconds Sokka digested this information. "And I can teach Aang firebending. Doesn't he need to master all four elements?"

"Wouldn't that be betraying your own nation?" Sokka wasn't going to give up without a fight. "My loyalty is to the Fire _Nation_. Not Fire Lord Ozai. Let's just say that I disagree with some of his methods. But don't think I'll fight against my own nation. No way, not gunna happen." Sokka glared, opened his mouth, closed it, glared, opened his mouth closed it again, sighed. "Aang…" Sokka pleaded.

"I think it's a great idea," Aang exclaimed.

"Katara…" Sokka tried again. Katara shrugged. Sokka sighed again. "Fine. But if you should betray us, if you should turn us in to Zuko or anyone else, should you do ANYTHING that I have not mentioned that would harm any of us in ANY way, I will flay you until you die!" Amory chortled. "Of course. I'll be _very_ careful."

"And one more thing. I want to know your story. Your full story." Sokka wasn't about to let up.

"Fine. I have two requests. Well, one's a request and one's a question."

"What?" Sokka narrowed his eyes with suspicion. "Well," the girl continued, "I want to hear all of your stories, and what the heck is that?" She was pointing at Momo, perched on Aang's shoulder. "That's Momo," Aang answered. "He's a flying lemur. I'll have to show you Appa, too."

"Appa?" Amory raised her eyebrows.

"He's my flying bison," Aang said with a grin.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go back to camp!" Katara turned and started walking back to camp without waiting for their reply. Sokka, Aang, and Amory shrugged. Then they followed her; Sokka scowling, Aang grinning broadly, and Amory with a mischievous grin on her face.

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Hey all! Hope you enjoyed chapter two! Sorry for the long flashback and convos, but they were necessary. If people think that the characters were a little OOC in that last scene especially, I had to tweak it a bit to suit the storyline. Same as with them rushing to accept Amory. Don't worry; she still won't be completely trusted! Trust takes time. And Zuko and other ppl will make their appearance…later. I'm trying to build the foundations of the story. It will get better and longer with time. 


	3. Tale Around the Campfire

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender or any related characters. I will never own it, unless today billions of dollars fall in front of me and I decide to waste it on buying it. Amory, her father, her brother, and Kohaku are mine, though the name Kohaku is not.

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Hey! Thanks for your continuing interest in my story, so welcome to chapter three! 

Aquamoonluvr- Thanks a lot for your review! I'm still toying with the idea of doing a SokkaxOC or SokkaxSuki because some interest has been shown in it. However, I do think I'll do a ZukoxAmory.

The Violent Tomboy- Thanks again. I'm glad that you think it's better.

About the last scene in Chapter 2, I used a little bit of my creative license to allow them to semi-accept Amory so quickly. This is probably going to be a very short chapter, so, sorry. But I do think this is important enough to give it a full chapter to itself. This is also part of the "foundation", so if you think it's going a bit slowly, it'll become more exciting later. Also, right now it is a little more lighthearted, but the storyline will become darker On with the show, err fan fiction!

"_This_ is Appa?" Amory asked, slightly incredulously.

"Yep. Isn't he great?" Aang said proudly. Amory eyed Appa. "If your definition of great is a ten ton, six- legged, flying bison with arrows, then yeah, he's great." She patted Appa on the head. He groaned in reply. "He likes you," Aang told her happily. "And if Appa trusts you, so can I! _Right_, Sokka?" Sokka grumbled. "Appa is a big bison. How would he know if someone is trustworthy?"

"Appa would know. He has a way with these things," Aang told him, undeterred. Sokka sighed and didn't continue the subject. There was an uncomfortable silence, broken by Sokka who exclaimed suddenly, "I'm starving!" Everyone looked at him. "What? I am," he answered defensively.

"Yeah. Me too. I have a bit of food in my pack but there isn't enough for all of us, and I think we should leave it as emergency rations. This means," Amory continued, with a glare at Momo, "that it is off limits unless it is an EMERGENCY. So why don't we go looking for some food?" she finished. Katara nodded. "How about Aang and Sokka staying here?" Katara suggested.

"What? Why me?" Sokka asked.

"Because, Sokka, all you can find are rock- shaped nuts," Katara told him, matter of factly.

"That's not true. I found several nuts along with those rocks. _And-_"

"You don't want your defenseless baby sister going alone in the forest with a firebender," Katara finished for him.

"Well, yeah," Sokka said, looking a little put out.

"Sokka, I'm a _waterbender_. And I trust Amory," she told Sokka, exasperated. Amory smiled at her, glad that someone besides a naive twelve-year-old thought her trustworthy. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going. We can split up and cover more ground," Amory suggested. Katara nodded.

About an hour later Amory and Katara met back up at camp. Katara had a large amount of berries and nuts to show for her efforts; Amory produced some nuts, berries, and a fat rabbit. "What is _that_?" Aang asked her, horrified. Amory looked up, puzzled. "It's a rabbit. You know, fluffy tail, big ears?"

"I don't eat meat," Aang whispered, looking at the rabbit.

"You don't eat meat?" Amory exclaimed, looking scandalized. Aang shook his head. "I suppose _you_ guys eat meat?" she asked, annoyed. Katara and Sokka nodded. "Good," Amory said, looking considerably happier. With that she started a small fire to cook her prize.

After they had all eaten and laid out their sleeping rolls (Amory had brought her own) Sokka asked her, none too happily, what her story was. "My story?" Amory mused. "It's not all that interesting." Sokka glared. "But anyway," she continued, "I was the second child of three. My father was a great Fire Nation general." Sokka hissed, Amory glared. "Anyway, my mother died after giving birth to me. Several years after my mother died, my father remarried. Another few years down the road and she had my little sister. I had an older brother who was four years my senior, who taught me how to control my firebending when I was first learning. When I was twelve, he joined up in the army."

"Wait a minute," Sokka interrupted. "I thought the age limit to join in your army was older than sixteen."

"It was. But they needed more soldiers so they let younger people join. My brother was one of the bravest and the best. But after one Earth Kingdom attack, my brother showed up missing in action and was presumed dead."

"How do you know your brother just didn't run away from the fight?" It was evident that Sokka had gone too far. None of them had seen Amory so angry. You could almost see her eyes glowing red. But when she spoke, it was with cold anger, quiet, but with suppressed rage. "My brother was very brave. He would never, never, ever run from a battle! For your information, many people saw him _during _the battle; and it was only after that they could not find his body among the dead. AND I WOULD APPRECIATE IF YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH BEFORE I SHUT IT FOR YOU!" Sokka blinked several times. "Uh, sorry." From the look that Amory gave him, it was apparent that she didn't think "Uh, sorry," was enough. And from the sympathetic looks Katara was giving her, she didn't either. "My younger sister is named Kohaku. We have a large age gap. She's nine, now. When I left she was seven. After my brother died my dad had me train under General Iroh. And one day I decided to go off and hone my skills. And I have been doing that for two years. End of story." But everyone looking at her did not believe that that was her full story, or the end of it.

"So what's your story," Amory asked them quickly. And so Aang started with his story, then Sokka and Katara told her theirs. Then they all told her how they all had met, and what they had been doing. When they were finally finished, it was very late, so after they extinguished the fire, they went to sleep.

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Well, that was the very short chapter three. I did not make up the name of Amory's sister. My friend told me about it, and Kohaku means "amber" in Japanese or Chinese, so I thought it fitting. Even though I think it might be a male name. Oh well. Again, creative license.Ha ha. Also, I think Zuko will make his appearance in the next chapter and things will start speeding up. The next chapter will be longer then this one. Also, sorry about the pathetic last paragraph. I had writer's block, and didn't know any way to end it. 


	4. A Run In with a Prince

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. I'm just obsessed with it. I own my characters.

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Heyday ho! Welcome to Chapter Four. For people who were wondering how the heck this is a ZukoxAmory romance because Zuko has not been in it, wonder no longer! Zuko will be in this chapter. Sorry if he is OOC. I'm not use to writing him. I mean, this _is _my first fan fiction, after all. Yay! I thought that there would be no one to thank in this chapter! I'm so happy that I'm wrong!

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Ekari Turone- Thanks fro your review! I'm glad that you like my story. Don't worry, I'll update ASAP! I'd love to review one of your stories as soon as I can!

I live and write off reviews, so please r and r!

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"Look over there," Aang cried excitedly. "It's a town. We can go get supplies!"

"Great idea Aang!" Katara agreed. Sokka stopped in his tracks. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, everybody. For all we know the Fire Nation could be in there in droves."

"It's not," Amory, the newest addition to their group told him. "That town is not under Fire Nation control. We can go through there as much as we please, but we don't control it." Sokka grimaced as she said "we". "That settles it," Aang said, starting off towards the town, Momo on his shoulder. Appa stayed behind, safely concealed behind some dunes. They followed Aang into the town, carefully examining all the goods. "Great!" Sokka exclaimed. "Now we can get more food." His face fell. "But we don't have any money," he moaned, clutching his stomach. Amory laughed. "Hel-lo Sokka. I'm the daughter of a great Fire Nation general. I'm not exactly destitute. I started out with some money, and whenever I ran low I'd just do a bit of work to earn some. So I can pay for the food and stuff."

"Thanks!" Aang told her, beaming. "See Sokka? Was I right or was I right?" They spent several minutes examining all the stands before picking out various food items and supplies. The town may have been small, but they had a lot of merchandise.

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"Uncle, please tell me _why_ you feel the need to stop at this town? It's not even under Fire Nation control!" Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation was not in a very good mood. His uncle had decided that they needed to stop and get more ginseng tea. Since he did this quite often, Zuko was right to be angry. To further better his mood, they had lost track of the Avatar, _again_. "Now, now Prince Zuko. I have run out of ginseng tea. We need to get more." Zuko tried to suppress his anger, but a stream of smoke still escaped from his mouth. "Tell me, Uncle," he said through gritted teeth, "Why do we need to stop to get _more_ tea when we just stopped to get more a VERY SHORT TIME AGO!" he ended, yelling.

"It appears that we-"

"You," Zuko said, too quietly for Iroh to hear.

"-have ran out. So we need more. But let us not dwell on that. How about you play a game of Pai Chow with me?" his uncle asked, hopefully. "Now that we have bought a new lotus tile after you threw the last one away, I can use my master strategy." Zuko did not bother to answer. He just stormed away, growling to himself. _We'll never find the Avatar at this rate_, he thought to himself. Sure, his uncle was a great firebender. Sure, he was helpful in trying to capture the Avatar. But sometimes…he could be very, very, annoying.

"Excuse me," Iroh said to a soldier, tapping him on the shoulder. "Would you care to join me in a game of Pai Chow? I would offer you some ginseng tea, but we have no more left." The startled firebender nodded dumbly. Did the Dragon of the West just offer _him_ to play a game of _Pai Chow_? "Good," Iroh said, beaming.

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"So, what should we do now?" Katara asked.

"Uh, I dunno." Aang scratched his head. "Maybe we could take a look at the sights. You know, take a break?" Sokka, as usual, did not like this idea. "Look, the sea. Look, shops. Look, people. Well, I think that's about it. Let's get going." Aang looked at him, giving him the puppy-dog eyes. "We need to put as much distance as we can between us and Zuko," Sokka continued weakly. "And there could be Firebenders here…" he trailed off.

"Sokka, _I'm _a firebender, if you haven't noticed," Amory told him.

"I'm not talking about you," Sokka said.

"Aha! So you accept me as myself, not as one of those evil, tyrannical things that _you_ think are firebenders." Sokka sighed. He had just lost two arguments. "Fine. Aang, we can do some sight seeing, I guess. But if we get captured by the Fire Nation, I'm blaming you."

"Great! Let's get going," cried Aang, looking considerably happier. Sokka sighed again, resigned to the worst.

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Prince Zuko was standing on the deck of his ship, Iroh beside him, watching the ship pull into the harbor. Once the ship was successfully secured, the ramp was lowered and Zuko and Iroh walked out; Iroh had insisted that his nephew came with him. Zuko sighed as his uncle took the time to examine what seemed like _each _and _every_ item on display in _every _SINGLE shop. "Come on, Uncle! Can you please hurry up and buy your stupid tea!"

"Patience, Prince Zuko. I wish to examine the items on sale." Zuko snorted furiously. "Well could you _please_ conduct yourself a little faster?" Iroh turned to him, giving him the puppy-dog eyes treatment. Zuko had not known that one so old could successfully pulled off. He sighed. "Fine, Uncle. We can examine all the junk." Iroh beamed at him. "Thank you, nephew. You are too kind." Zuko glared, picking up the reprimand of his stinginess. Who wouldn't be stingy when their half- crazed uncle had dragged them, saying they only wanted some stupid tea, only to examine every shop in the whole town!

Zuko and Iroh slowly moved to the center of town, whilst Iroh continued to examine the shops.

**Meanwhile…**

On the other side of town, Aang, Amory, Katara, and Sokka made their way to the center of the town, trying to find something interesting enough that looking at it would be classified as "sightseeing." The problem was, that in a town as small as this, there was not much to be found. In this town, the market dominated everything. Most of the inhabitants were farmers, so the market was filled with tons of food. But here and there a down-and-out merchant would be in one of the stalls, trying desperately to sell their goods. Even rarer in this town, a thriving merchant would be selling exotic goods. These were the stalls that Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Amory stayed at the longest. Reaching the center of the town, they found what they were looking for. The richest merchant had set up his stall in the center, where he was selling elaborate masks. Katara, and Aang too, for some reason, were especially interested in the masks. Amory glanced over them, while Sokka hardly even looked at them.

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Zuko followed after his uncle as Iroh made a beeline for the largest stall, a large display of richly decorated masks. Zuko looked at the masks, and received a shock as he saw a blue mask, identical to one he owned. Suddenly he did not feel like examining the items on display anymore. Not that he had ever wanted too. He turned around, with every intent on walking back to his ship, when he bumped into a girl. The girl turned to see who had bumped into her. She had blue eyes, brown hair, and was wearing the garb of the water tribe. Their eyes met. "_You_!" Zuko hissed. "Uncle, the Avatar is here!" The water peasant didn't wait around. "Aang, _Run! _Prince Zuko's here!"

"What?" Aang asked, astonished.

"Come on Aang. I _told _you it was a bad idea stopping here,"Sokka yelled, running. Katara and Aang followed suit. Amory stood there, not knowing what the hell was happening, until Sokka grabbed her and started dragging her along. "Okay, okay. I can run for myself," she grumbled. Aang glanced back. Zuko was gaining on him, and Zuko's uncle was standing, talking to Zuko's soldiers, who had rushed out when they heard the commotion. Suddenly, those soldiers started chasing the group too. Aang dodged a fireball Zuko sent after him. It was hard running from the firebenders. Even though this was a small town, almost all of the inhabitants were out on the streets- and in their way. Sokka, Katara, Aang, and Amory had their worked cut out weaving and dodging through them, all the while narrowly avoiding fireballs. However, Zuko and his soldiers were having a worse time then them. No one in this town harbored any sympathy for the Fire Nation, so they would purposely get in the way, only to be pushed roughly aside by the firebenders. Some of the braver ones even tripped the passing firebenders. "Where do we go, where do we go, where do we go?" Sokka cried.

"Head towards the beach!" Amory commanded. Sokka gave her a strange look. "The beach? But we'll be trapped!"

"I've got a plan, but you've got to trust me!" Amory replied. Sokka opened his mouth, closed it, then nodded grimly. "Okay. I'll trust you. For now." They continued running, now heading for the beach. They got to it, and then came to a stop. "What now, o smart one?" Sokka said sarcastically. "You wanted us to get trapped here. You're working for the Fire Nation!"

"SHUT UP SOKKA!" Amory cried, losing her concentration. "Aang, use your bison whistle. Katara, can you make a big wave to hit Zuko and his firebenders? We need some time." Katara nodded grimly. The firebenders were right behind them. Sokka got his boomerang out. Katara started making a wall of water. Amory got into a fighting stance. Momo started chattering in fear. Aang blew his whistle.

* * *

A while away Appa the flying bison woke from his nap. Needing no further urging, he flew to the direction of the sound and his master.

* * *

"Okay, do you have a plan B?" Sokka asked nervously. Amory ignored him. Zuko and his soldiers rushed on the beach, conjuring fireballs. "Katara, NOW!" Amory shouted. Katara let the huge wall of water she had been holding up come crashing down. Several of the soldiers screamed as the water hit them with surprising force. Zuko just braced himself. As the wall of water cleared away, Appa came soaring down. Aang and Katara quickly jumped onto his back. Amory jumped on, with a little difficulty, then helped Sokka up. "Thanks," he grumbled.

"Welcome," she replied, smiling.

"Come on Appa, yip yip!" Aang called, watching the dripping firebenders worriedly. Appa soared up into the sky. "Bring that bison down!" Zuko commanded. The firebenders shot fireballs at the bison, but Appa just dodged them. Zuko, frustrated from losing the Avatar again, breathed fire into the air. Aang and his companions watched until Zuko became a black speck in the distance. Then they turned to face where they were headed. "We have a lot of supplies, so we should try to close the gap between us and the North Pole." The others nodded.

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Well, there's Zuko for ya. Not my best chapter, but oh well. 


	5. The North Pole!

Disclaimer: please read other disclaimer 'cos I'm lazy

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'ello. Welcome to Chapter Five! Eheh, sorry for the wait, I had a HUGE writer's block. I didn't know what to do after the last chapter. Sorry! Just so you know, this will span water, earth, and fire, so Aang will have to master all those elements before I can end this story. He'll master water in one of the upcoming chapters; the rest will take longer. But Aang already knows some waterbending. So it will be like three stories in one! But, eh, it might be a little sped up so it won't become too tiringOh, and I might do a couple chapter's as Amory's POV, 'cos I can. And if people think this story has been pretty predictable so far, I have a few tricks up my sleeve.

Oh, and I found a name for Amory's once nameless father, and he'll be General Renjiro, which means clean; upright; honest in Japanese. I got it off a website-h t t p / w w w . 2 0 0 0 0 - n a m e s . c o m / m a l e j a p a n e s e n a m e s . h t m. If you're stuck for names, visit this site. It's excellent, and you can look up male and female names in many different languages. I think her brother's name will be Kaemon, which means joyful; right-handed; an old samurai name. Off of same website.

And I no longer can answer your reviews in the story. :( Sorry guys! Oh, and I just saw the new episode of Avatar, and it didn't go with what I was going to do. So I may take a few elements from the episodes and just make the rest up. Oh well. This is AU anyway.

PLEASE R and R! PLEASE? Reviews are what keep me going. And my MP3 player. Sorta. I just listen to it while I write. Anywho, sorry for the long A/N. On with the fan fict!

Note: Eh is my word of the chapter of the day… thing.

Note: I'm going to be rewriting Chapter Three, Four, and ESPECIALLY ONE. TO UNDERSTAND PARTS LATER IN THIS STORY, YOU NEED TO AT LEAST RE-READ CHAPTER ONE! Sorry.  It's just that the plot bunnies bit me in the butt _after_ I wrote and posted it.

Note: Amory did not witness Zuko's "punishment" or know why he was punished and did not see him after it; she just heard that he had gotten banished. And she only got a small glimpse of him during the last chapter. This info might be important in later chapters, but I don't know. I have no idea where I am going with this. Erm, that's bad. (Sweatdrop)

Note: There will be no more notes in this chapter besides the ending A/N. (Too much sugar hehe).

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Amory was starting to enjoy riding on Appa. When she had first started riding she had felt sick. Thankfully she hadn't thrown up over the saddle and into the cold sea below. Now her stomach was used to it, and she could fully enjoy the view. At least for a little while. Now she was tired of the practically endless water.

When Appa would get tired, they would steer their way to an island, navigating off Aang's map (and getting lost several times). They had been traveling for a week since they had last seen Zuko. Needless to say, everyone was getting just a little tired of it.

"Wow," Katara said, looking at the map. "We've never traveled this far without stopping to see something. We're really making good time!" Sokka looked over at the map. "Great," he grumbled. "I can't wait to get to the North Pole. This trip is taking forever!" Katara just shook her head, grinning. "It shouldn't take us much longer to get to the North Pole at this rate. And we haven't seen Zuko or any other firebenders for awhile, so if we keep this up, we might be able to get there in a week!"

"A week!" Sokka and Amory exclaimed together, though for different reasons.

"A whole week?" Sokka complained. "I thought it would take a few days!"

"A week? We'll be there in no time," Amory said cheerfully. Aang looked back from his position at the front. "That's great! So in a week, I can start to learn more waterbending?"

"Well, if we keep this pace up and aren't delayed," Katara replied. "And we haven't seen any firebenders for a week, besides Amory. I hope our luck keeps this way." Amory looked over the side. "Katara, this is going to be so cliché-ish, but I think you spoke too soon. AANG! TURN TO THE LEFT!"

"What?" Aang asked, confused, but did as he was told. A huge fireball went past them, right at the spot where they had been a moment before. Katara, Sokka, and Amory rushed to the side of Appa's saddle, peering down at the water below. A huge Fire Nation warship loomed below them. "That's too big to be Zuko's," Sokka breathed.

"Yep," Amory replied. "See those symbols? That's Zhao's."

"Zhao?" Aang's eyes darkened as he repeated the name. "I remember him." Before they could question him, Aang jerked hard on the reins to avoid another fireball. "Okay," Amory said. "Playtime's over!"

"What do we do?" Aang yelled at her.

"Um, I'm still working on it!" she answered. "RIGHT!" Aang jerked the reins again, causing Appa to turn, missing another fireball. "Alright, this is getting really annoying," Amory growled. "Aang, can Appa go any faster?"

"I don't think so. He's really tired."

"Damn," Amory muttered.

"Why don't you just throw some fireballs at them?" Sokka suggested.

"I can't do that! I'm traveling incognito. I can't let them see my face or use my firebending against them; they'd know it was me! I'm a general's daughter. AND I'm still loyal to the Fire Nation, if you don't know. If they knew I was traveling with the Avatar, what would they say?"

"We could pretend that Aang had mastered firebending. Not only would we be able to fight back, they'd be scared because they'd think he mastered all the elements," Katara said. Amory looked at her thoughtfully. "As long as they couldn't see it was me, that just might work. Sokka, could you take over steering Appa? They can tell the difference between you and Aang's clothes, and it needs to look like Aang is using firebending." Sokka looked at her. "Do you know how high up we are! They're not going to see it's you!"

"…" Amory just stared unblinking at him. "Fine, okay, geez. If you want to be all paranoid, fine." Sokka went over to Aang, who sat down next to Amory. Sticking her hand out over Appa's saddle and looking over Aang's shoulder, she carefully aimed a fireball at Zhao's ship. Aang stared at her for a moment before asking, "How much damage can you do to the ship with just fireballs?" Amory sighed irritably before straightening. "I'll have you know, you just broke my concentration. And I don't think I'll be able to do much, especially from this height, whereas they have big rocks to set on fire. But I think if I throw enough fireballs down there, I might be able to block their view of us and allow us to escape, got it?" Aang nodded cheerfully. "Good," Amory said. She took careful aim. "Where are we going to land? We won't be able to make it to the North Pole." Sokka asked. Amory glared. "Would you quit breaking my dang concentration! And I don't know. Check the map. See if there are any islands near here. USE YOUR FRIGGIN' HEAD! Do I have to do ALL the planning!"

"Sheesh," Sokka said, but he went over and borrowed the map from Katara. Amory took aim again. "Good news! There _is _an island near here!" Sokka said excitedly. Amory rolled her eyes over at him. "Do you _mind_?" she asked. Sokka smirked. "Whenever you're ready, o great firebender." Amory decided not to grace this with a response.

Again, she took aim. She waited a moment, seeing if anyone would dare say anything. She was just starting to think that they wouldn't when Sokka said, "Hey Amory."

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" she yelled.

"Never mind," Sokka said. "I got it."

Amory glared at him for a long, cold minute. "Um, guys, have you forgotten that Zhao's ship is right below and that he is _still throwing fireballs at us_?" Katara asked. They all looked down. "Oh, crap," was all Amory said. Several "flaming rocks" were currently hurtling up at them. "Oh crap," Sokka agreed, before he started pulling the reins this way and that to dodge them. Hastily Amory took aim again. Fortunately, she was actually able to shoot her fireballs. "Just a little more… just enough to mask our presence…" Sokka said, more to himself than to anyone else. Amory just nodded, and narrowing her eyes, complied. Katara surveyed her work. "That should be enough. I can't see them, so I'm assuming they can't see us," Katara cried jubilantly. Sokka glanced over the edge. "Good," he grunted. Now it was Amory's turn to smirk.

Several minutes later Appa landed on a small island. Amory slumped over the saddle. "Finally," she sighed. "I thought we were going to be flying all day, what with Mr. Genius here getting us lost."

"Hey!" Sokka yelled. "That was NOT my fault." Everyone stared at him, all thinking, _How was it _not _your fault_? Sokka huffed angrily before climbing down from Appa. "Let's set up a camp. We should probably lie low until tomorrow. Then we can make it to the North Pole," he suggested.

"Hmm…" Katara wondered. "Are you sure they're not going to look for us here?" Amory hissed in frustration. "That could be potentially problematic." They all stared after her, as if to say, _potentially!_

"Uh, guys? Even if they do come looking for us, Appa's too tired to keep going. We have no choice but to stay here for the night. I think we should follow Sokka's plan," Aang stated. Sokka puffed out his chest. Amory rolled her eyes, but nodded. So did Katara. "So it's decided then," Aang said cheerfully.

The next day the four of them- five including Momo- were back on Appa's back. Amory sighed and lazily dangled her arm over the edge. She glared down at the blue water. What the hell was wrong with her? She was a firebender of the _Fire Nation_. What was she doing with these people? And when one of them was the Avatar. She would be accused of treason by being in his company without doing… ANYTHING. She winced. And her father…

Amory was interrupted from her thoughts by Katara's excited shout of, "Look! I see it! The North Pole!" They all glanced up. Sure enough, stretching before them, the North Pole rose out of the ocean. They had made it.

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Kay, I'm sorry you waited this long for a piece of crap like this. I'm sorry! I had writer's block. And I'm a bit stuck with what happens next… I haven't seen almost any of the new episodes… I think the next chapter might be mostly one of the episodes in written form with minor changes to include Amory, then going on with the story… Still, ideas are appreciated.

Hmm… this sort of sounds like it's SokkaxAmory lol, with all the bickering. But I have other plans. Hehe…


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